The Center and the Circumference
THE FULL MOON IN LEO
Tuesday February 7, 2012 at 1:54 pm PST
Moon opposes Sun at 18.32 degrees Leo/Aquarius
Tomorrow we arrive at the Full Moon, the monthly opposition of Sun and Moon and culmination of a cycle that began at the Aquarius New Moon two weeks ago.
Falling in Leo, the sign ruled by the infinite Sun, this Full Moon coincides with another culmination: the conjoining of the Sun and Mercury — the superior conjunction, or "Full Mercury" — the peak point in a cycle that began last December 4th when Mercury last met up with the Sun, smack dab in the middle of its retrograde cycle.
At Full Mercury, our Trickster God of Cognition, Connections and Commerce is moving direct at a fast clip, speed-skating right past the Sun to become an evening star. The forty-seven days from Full Mercury until the next station retrograde (March 12th) ordinarily marks a time in which the brain is functioning especially well: synapses happily firing away, composers composing, writers writing, commerce "commercing." However, at this Full Mercury phase, we have Mars, God of Action, already well into his retrograde cycle; and Saturn will arrive at his station retrograde tomorrow as well. So if you've been wondering why life seems to have slowed way down, why things are taking two or three times longer than they should, well that's why.
Saturn Retrograde in Libra, One Last Time
Every year Saturn — Father Time — runs seemingly backwards against the backdrop of the starry sky. An optical illusion due to our vantage point from Earth, Saturn will appear to slowly retrace his steps, taking almost six months to cover a mere seven degrees of zodiac pie. Saturn in backwards motion signals a time in which we are meant to review our own steps as well — check the compass readings, and reassess the direction we are headed in life.
Stationing at the very "last gasp" — the final 29th degree — of Libra, this year marks the closing passage of Saturn through this Venus-ruled sign of partnership, balance and harmony. So it is final exam time in Saturn's 2½ year course in relationships we have all enrolled in since the Lord of Karma first began his journey here in late October of 2009.
Retrograde phases, as it is widely held in astrological circles, provide us with the opportunity to review, rethink, and reassess matters in life that pertain to the planet in question; and with Saturn executing a retrograde dance through Libra, some of the best questions are, of course, relationship ones:
- Who and what have we outgrown in life?
- Where is the balance of give and take not working?
- With whom are we too strongly tethered and need more freedom?
- Which relationships need more attention: better investment of time and energy?
- Where does life need pruning or culling to support new growth?
Saturn retrograde "nudges us" to settle accounts, to deal with the unfinished business we've allowed to accumulate, to handle the stuff we've been sweeping under the carpet — all the "stuff" we would rather not do, but nevertheless has to be done. Saturn gets after that human tendency to procrastinate, to put off what we are supposed to be handling and get to it, right now.
Saturn is gravitas: 'dignity, seriousness, or solemnity of manner.' His metal is heavy, impervious lead. Yet, as every alchemist knows, within lead is that elusive gold; and it is this alchemical process of lead-into-gold, that best symbolizes Saturn retrograde's process, for every year Saturn performs his retrograde dance in synch with the golden Sun.
"God is a circle whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere."
— Nicolas of Cusa
This year, the relationship between Sun and Saturn is further underscored by Saturn's retrograde station coinciding on the very day of the Leo Full Moon, the sign ruled by the very Sun itself. The glyph for the Sun, above, is also the symbol used for gold, and in esoteric circles represents Spirit Manifest. It also resembles a fertile egg.
In mathematics, a single point has no dimension, and the circle contains an area impossible to calculate. Think of it — the simple act of drawing a circle encloses infinity. Both the point and the circle represent the boundlessness and limitlessness of space. As close as we can get to calculating the area of a circle is represented by pi, or 3.141592... only an approximation. The smartest cookies from ancient times 'til now have tried to figure it out to no avail, because it's a fool's errand, an impossibility.
The astrological Sun represents many things: the Divine Guest, the higher self, the psyche, the temporal self or ego, one's life force, life purpose, personal mandala, what one is building in this lifetime, one's potential, vitality and essence. This rather long list of associations itself implies the obvious: we are ultimately limitless. Astrologer Alice O. Howell writes so well of this parallel between the circle and the psyche:
The parallel to the psyche is there: the chart as a mandala is by implication infinite. No one can either define or limit another, one can only help the unfolding. Our own potential is limitless.
— Alice O. Howell, Jungian Symbolism in Astrology
The Sun is our nearest star, it represents wisdom, enlightenment, and all things warm and rousing: being inspired to greatness, setting a glorious example, shining our own individual, unique light — believing in our worth. The Sun is euphoric, unselfconscious, gleeful delight at being alive, something we tragically forget to pack in our bags when we depart childhood. The Sun and Leo are reminders that we are, every one of us, young and old, made of this same infinite, vital light.
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2012 Saturn Retrograde in Libra Important Dates
- February 7, 2012 — Station Retrograde at 29.30 Libra
- June 25, 2012 — Station Direct at 22.46 Libra
- October 1, 2012 — Leaves Retrograde Zone
- October 5, 2012 — Saturn enters Scorpio
Related Essays
Athena's Owl — Mars Stations Retrograde (January 23, 2012)
I and Thou — The Leo Full Moon 2010
References
The photo of the colored lights striking the labyrinth at the beginning of this article was taken by my friend and fellow astrologer Rozanna Bozabalian at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, January 28, 2012.
Sullivan, Erin. Retrograde Planets: Traversing the Inner Landscape. York Beach, ME: Weiser, York, 2000.
Howell, Alice O. Jungian Symbolism in Astrology. AFA, Tempe, AZ, 1987.
While cruising around Saturn in early October 2004, Cassini captured a series of images that have been composed into this large natural color view of Saturn and its rings, included here in this essay.
© 2012 Elaine Kalantarian, all rights reserved